Tag Archives: opengov

Get Involved in a Brigade Action Team

A first version of priorities and a draft rally cry are some of the key items that Code for America Brigades should be excited about as we start 2017. But what’s really exciting for me are the opportunities for making connections across the brigade network. Which is why the National Advisory Committee needs brigade members to help us by joining some of our Brigade Action Teams.

As many of you know, I have the honor of serving on the Code for America Brigade National Advisory Committee or NAC for short. There are eight other passionate members of the group who have had several meetings over the last few weeks to help set priorities, draft a rally cry (see image to the right), and identify working groups we call Brigade Action Teams (BAT). We’ve worked closely with Code for America staff and an amazing consultant who helped us navigate several exercises to move the group forward. Continue reading

Apply Now for the TransparencyCamp Travel Scholarship

TransparencyCamp is an annual unconference by the Sunlight Foundation that brings together folks interested in government transparency. TCamp 2014 is happening on May 30-31st. To ensure that diverse voices and communities are represented, they will once again provide a travel scholarship open to participants from across the country.

APPLY NOW! Continue reading

When to release your source code?

Open Source CityThis time last year, I was in full editing mode for my book, The foundation for an open source city. I was also in the middle of my IndieGogo crowdfunding campaign to raise awareness for my project. But there was one debate still going on in my head that I wasn’t sure how to answer. And to be honest, I’m not sure if I answered it correctly, but I made my decision. Continue reading

Are You Ready to Become a Citizen CIO?

Photo Credits: @snajmi

Photo Credits: @snajmi

Are citizen CIOs a threat to local governments or a blessing in disguise? With government IT departments producing more open data and participation from community interest groups and citizens on the rise, we’re beginning to see the start of a new movement within open government: telling our government which technologies to deploy. Citizens are identifying—and some are creating themselves—the next wave of applications and resources for their municipalities, such as a crowdsourced answering platform for city services, an open data catalog, and a civic infrastructure adoption website for fire hydrants and storm drains. With this, the role of the citizen CIO is beginning to emerge. Continue reading

Now available on Lulu and Amazon: The foundation for an open source city

Open Source City stickerIt’s time for another update from my recently self-published book, The foundation for an open source city. First, an excerpt from Chapter one, a section called “The five elements of an open source city” which is the essence of the book and the framework for how to start an open government movement in your city. Then, a brief update on how sales of the book are going and a chance for you to add your review.

The five elements of an open source city

How can you apply the concepts of open source to a living, breathing city? An open source city is a blend of open culture, open government policies, and economic development. Continue reading

How Raleigh became an open source city

Cover design option 2And I’m published! This is it folks. After months of hard work and a longer than anticipated editing process, you can get your official copy of my book, The foundation for an open source city, at Lulu.com.

It tells the story about how Raleigh became an open source city and showcases the open source culture, government policies, and economic development in Raleigh. Beyond that, this book acts as a guide for other cities to pursue their open source city brand.

I will publish the eCopy version later this week after a few minor changes, then I’ll be investigating how I can add both the paper back and epub versions to Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Continue reading

Hey RTP: Get involved in open government

open govt - Image credits opensource.com

Image credits opensource.com

I gave the latest iteration of my “Open source all the cities talk” (slides) at BarCampRDU on Saturday May 18, 2013. When I got to my slide on how to get involved, someone in the room asked me if this was posted on the web. And I was like….no, but that’s a great idea.

There are a number of events or ways you can make our local government in the Triangle region more transparent, enhance citizen participation, or improve collaboration between citizens and government or regionally between municipalities. Here are a few events coming up and some other ways to get started. Continue reading

Getting ready for my book launch party

The foundation for an open source city book is done. I’m waiting on the latest print copy to review before the big order. Until then…we’re getting ready for the launch party. It’s a few weeks away and I’m getting very excited! Merri Beth is using Shutterfly to create the invitations. And it’s about time we “Open source all the cities.” Continue reading

Open source all the cities presentation

On Thursday, April 11, I gave a talk called “Open source all the cities” at the monthly meeting of the Triangle Linux User Group (TriLUG). The presentation is a look at the open government movement in Raleigh, a preview for my book The Foundation for an Open Source City, and a overview of the different apps and platforms the City of Raleigh has deployed in the Open Raleigh portal. Continue reading